Got two things to ask and one thing to offer. I'll try to make it short and sweet.


QUESTION 1: What destroyed or depopulated your version of Earth? Nukes, asteroids, zombies? If nothing did yet, what took the closest shot so far?

Same question if you're not from Earth - just swap out Earth for wherever you came from.

I'm not compiling a spreadsheet or anything. I guess it's just something I've wondered.


QUESTION 2: What are we even doing here? What's our destination? The purpose of the voyage? Who sent us, and why us? Maybe I missed something and by all means point me there if I did, but in less than a day, this ship sucks up more resources than the Ark could spare for a month.

I've been here for over a month now and I'm the first person I've seen ask anything like this so far. I want to think it's because we were up to our airholes in highly invasive nanotechnology. Or - like I said, maybe I missed the big 'who, what, where, and why' memo.


OFFER: I'm bored off my rocks, if you haven't picked up on that yet. I was a zero-G mech back on the Ark, and if that's not enough, I helped fix the thing that saved your asses pre-Jump. I can repair, rebuild, or build from scrap just about anything you can think of. So somebody give me a job before I start opening panels and improving whatever the hell's inside.

[ is she serious? she very well could be, so throw her a bone here, yeah? ]

[ katniss is restless with illness, crabby with it. she wants to do something to get her out of her head, but she's worked herself too much already today, knows she's reaching a point where pushing through will only make her worse, not better. so she rests in bed, and tries to find something to talk about. she's not very good at small talk, often only exchanges a couple of words and then considers the conversation over, but there's one thing she could listen to people talk about forever. ]

Would anyone like to tell me about their favourite foods?

[ voice, because she still finds texting too fiddly. after a pause, she adds an addendum: ]

Be as detailed as you'd like.

voice;

[ he sounds as excited as might be expected from someone whose lost their entire team, flat and empty and utterly beyond caring about anything else anymore. But this deserved a little more than empty text. ]

I did my best. It wasn't enough. This might not bring any consolation, but she made me promise that I --

[ silence, again for awhile. ]

Do with it what you will. It seems pointless now, but it's what she would have... done.

[ and it cuts.

After the message, the follow is sent as an attachment, left wide open to the network: ]

( FIELD REPORT; cut for length and creepy )

( closed to anyone who had anything to do with recon )

[ ooc: threadjacking and conversation making is all a-okay, non-recon people are welcome as well. ]

This is Shepard, formally Commander of the SSV Normandy. Recon mission to map out unexplored areas of the ship is set to move out as of oh-eight-hundred hours, day six of the current jump cycle. [That's eight am on the 12th for anyone with a functioning earth-calibrated calendar on them.] We should be back no later than day 14 [the 20th] for those of you worried we're going to get ourselves killed.

That said and done: if this goes well, we'll be running again next jump. If you want to volunteer for next month, fill out the attached form below. I'll organize you into teams so you can be properly outfitted by the next jump. I shouldn't need to say it, but anyone who volunteers should know they might not come back in one piece.

[Or at all. Technicalities.]

As a last call for technical support: if anyone has any radio equipment or anything that transmits independently of the comms network, we'd appreciate your donation. I can't guarantee the safe return of the equipment, but I for one sure as hell have my fingers crossed for it.

Shepard out.

[As promised, the following document for any prospective volunteers is attached to the transmission:]

Name:
Crew Number:
Previous Occupation:
Applicable Skills:

I, [NAME], am aware of the physical and psychological danger I may be at risk for by running ops including but not limited to: hallucinations, loss of life or limb due to 'manticores' (see above) and/or other hostile personal, loss of life or limb via missing the jump etc.

TALILOCK, PRIVATE TO MAY'S RECON GROUP:

Fireteams and Comms Liaisons are required to report to the Medical Bay at 0800hrs, day 6 for survival gear and additional outfitting. Strongly encourage you to pack light re: personal belongings.

From Medical Bay: Fireteam Agincourt will leave from Engineering, Hastings from the Oxygen Gardens, Shasta from the Flight Deck, Nairobi from Medical Bay and Perugia from Level 15's Passenger Quarters. Additional information for Comms check and day to day operations will be provided at day-of briefing in Medical.

Any no shows will be considered discharged and the operation will proceed without. Any questions?

TALILOCK, PRIVATE TO JAX TELLER:

If I go MIA, I need someone willing to sift through any data we send back.


((ooc: expect an ooc comms post to go up for this shortly and logs to follow! thank you everyone!))

[Text isn't usually her bag, but as she's currently lying in a dark room nursing a headache and trying not to puke her guts out-- needs must.]

GENERAL PRIORITY:
I need at least three people willing to run communications and record data for a recon mission in the ship. Technical experience preferred but not required. You won't be in the field, meaning there's little to no danger of missing the jump. See this archived post for additional details.

Any additional volunteers with technical skill willing to work with me [see: anyone she delegates the job to] to find workarounds for the ship's comm dead zones would be appreciated. If you can crack the problem, I'll personally barter my spare change of clothes away for something you want.



Unrelated side note:
Incident report re: medbay pre-jump would be great.


[locked to anyone currently signed up for recon mission]
Requesting a status report from all team leaders and anyone running environmental tests on their equipment. [...or magical abilities...]


((ooc: see this ooc comm post for more details on recon miniplot stuff!))

[ This could be done with more grandeur, probably. But, he's never been that kind, and given no one had said anything in lieu of him...

Life was too pointless, when those that left weren't marked in some way. ]

For those that knew him, Antillar Maximus, Tribune Auxiliaris, has left the ship.

That is all.

[ He's going to go drink, quietly and by himself, for as long as possible. ]

[ surprise, surprise, Wichita's broadcasting from the back room in the bar, like she did more often than not before she left. it's not like she's had any "man, it's weird to be back" feelings, because- well she didn't even realize she was gone for however many months when she first woke up after the jump. but then she turns on her communicator and there are a million transmissions about shit she doesn't understand, like, at all, and so she figures she better get to this sooner than later. ]

Hey.

[ hey. complete with a single wave and a somewhat sarcastic kind of grin. ]

First thing's first, for all the new kids on the block, I'm Wichita and whether you want to or not, I'm going to get to know a decent amount of you, because I'm a bartender at the space bar on the 6th level of the passenger quarters. AKA, the only open-to-everyone bar on board. I'm there pretty much all the time. Before anyone asks, no, Wichita isn't my real name, but no, I'm not going to tell you what it is. It's been a really long time since I've been home, but back then I had to learn how to use a gun, and I've gotten pretty good at it, so I also offer up shooting lessons for anybody that wants them. My two rules when it comes to all that are one, no mixing booze and guns, on the range or in my bar, and two, don't be a douchebag. So. If you fit those rules and want to come by the bar or sign up for a shooting lesson, consider this an open invite.

And there's that introduction.

Uh.

Second thing's second, I understand that my old room was left unlocked while I was gone, and that usually means that stuff is up for grabs, but that's no bueno now that I'm back, so this is me saying it needs to be returned. Immediately. [ the stuff she took from the kitchens and various parts of the ship she doesn't care about, but the stuff her friends left behind.. ] It's a short list, at least. Just drop it off here at the bar, or put it back where you found it, I don't care. Just refer back to rule two if you're looking for inspiration to not just hold onto it.

Yeah.

[ attached is a typed out list of about ten things, which include Justin Taylor's sketch pad, Isaac Mendez' sketch pad, this gun, this shirt, this hat and this gun, and a couple more random things that people she was close to might've left behind I just can't think of them because it's 3am, hehh, all described just enough to know what she's looking for. ]

Oh, and if somebody wants to explain what the hell's been going on on this ship for the last few months? That'd be- great. I guess. [ which is her cue to grab a drink, yep ]

When you’re a kid, maybe you say to yourself:

"I wish I could go to Disneyland."

"I hope I'll get my cock sucked by fifteen. By sixteen, I better be banging someone in the back of dad's favorite car.”

"One day, I’ll get into Harvard and become a brown-nosing yuppie making bonuses bigger than my insecurity complex. I’ll get married even. Have a kid, maybe two. A dog. And if I'm really lucky, I won’t be miserable.”

Those are the sort of wishes that come true. The mundane ones. You don’t say: "Well, one day I’d really like to go up into space. Maybe spend a night or two in a space ship. A journey through space? Oh man, why not? Not like we've only gotten as far as the moon. ”

And then, bam. Space.

Life doesn’t work like this. You don’t get what you want and when you do, it never comes free. So, what’s the catch? Probing, space slugs taking over our brains, being sold as human cargo to a far away planet, a floating menagerie? The options are endless.

((ooc: If you guys could hit up this permissions post, it would be much appreciated. ))

[The feed clicks on to show Miles Edgeworth, James Kirk and Tyke gathered around the head of the table in the Security office. Kirk is standing between the two, Tyke leaning far back in her seat, while the rigidity of Edgeworth’s posture seems to be trying to make up enough formality for all of them.]

Good day. This is Miles Edgeworth of the Security Department, speaking to you alongside Tyke, the head of Security, and James Kirk of the Gunnery crew. What we bring before you today is the new formation of the Exploratory Team.

[Tyke cuts in, there, expression tense and harshly annoyed.]

Before any of you start getting excited over that name, we’re doing this for those of you who think two deaths and one maiming still makes the dark parts of the ship look like a fun fucking time. You might wanna ignore common sense and us, but our job is to keep you safe, which means we can’t ignore you.

[Edgeworth glances over slightly at the profanity, but doesn’t react any more than that.] There may be some among you who will want to turn off this broadcast right now; you may think that you’re already qualified to simply go out there by yourselves. However, there are a few very good reasons why you’d not wish to do that.

First: the entire purpose of this initiative is indeed to keep you alive. “Highly qualified people” have already gone out there, and they have perished, as shall you if you decide that you, a highly qualified person, can act alone. Second, going through the teams means that you’ll not only have other trained people to watch your back, but you’ll also have access to critical supplies. Food, for instance. And weaponry, from the Gunnery crew.

[Kirk bumps in here, both palms flat on the table, and when he leans toward the camera the light catches in the silver at his temple.]

We know we can’t stop any of you going out there, and we aren’t going to try. We’re offering you the option of going out in teams to let us know when and where you’re going. This is both so we can keep track of everyone and so we know the general direction to head in if you get in trouble. That, and there’s a safety in numbers. Those things hunt in packs and they’re smart. If you get ambushed, you may come out less than fortunate.

[see, Erik Lensherr]

Anyone going out should first check into Security with your group. You’ll be required to have at least one person that knows first aid and to have a weapon. As Edgeworth said, if you’re unarmed and you’re going into the ship, contact the Gunnery and we can discuss letting you borrow a firearm. If you don’t have a group, talk to us and we can form one for you.

[Tyke leans in from her seat, finally. And it’s probably a deliberate choice that she’s only wearing a tank top rather than a hoodie or her jump suit, her own encounter with the manticores clearly evident in the large bite scarred around her right shoulder.]

Gonna say again, this isn’t for everyone to get to head out there. This is us making it so anyone who is really gonna insist on it does it as safe as we can manage. You don’t have the people, we’ll get you in with some. You don’t have the skills, we’ll get you training. We don’t need more people dying if there’s shit we can be doing to prevent it.

[Edgeworth nods once.]

I’ll be handling the administrative side of this. Contact me if you want to register for being formed into a group, or if you have a pre-formed group but wish training or supplies. The smartest thing you can do, if you’re considering heading out there, is sitting down and considering whether your life truly is worth so little on-board this ship. The smartest thing you can do is consider: will people truly miss me so little that I can throw away my life by going out there?

The second-smartest thing you can do is at least go out there prepared. And that’s what we’re ensuring.

[Kirk glances to Edgeworth with that little bit of advice, but doesn’t let the curious frown come through in his expression. he looks back to the camera.]

We’ll be here to answer any questions you have.

[and he reaches forward to end the transmission]


[ooc: And thank you for your collective attention, Tranquility! Use this post to ask questions and to form groups if you’d like. Jump each other! Go wild! Meanwhile, if you’d like to have your characters sign up to join groups, hit up this ooc post here.
LOVELY MAGENTA is for Edgeworth, blue is for Tyke, gold is for Kirk.]